Pubdate: Fri, 06 Apr 2001 Source: Advocate, The (LA) Copyright: 2001 The Advocate, Capital City Press Contact: http://www.theadvocate.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2 Author: Will Sentell Note: Will Sentell covers state education issues for The Advocate. BILL TO TEST TEACHERS FOR DRUGS QUESTIONED Agree or disagree: Should teachers undergo drug tests before they enter the classroom? State Sen. Fred Hoyt, D-Abbeville, wants to do just that. "Here we have teachers, the role models, heroes for our kids, who are holding the future of Louisiana in their hands, and we don't have a policy," Hoyt said. Hoyt said 28 other states require teachers to undergo some kind of tests for illegal drugs. "I am not trying to portray teachers as drug users," he said. "We are simply trying to provide a deterrent from anybody that uses drugs." Leaders of the state's top two teacher unions disagree. They said Hoyt's bill has a variety of flaws and would step on the individual liberties of teachers. "While the intent of this bill is honorable, we have to do it the right way," said Tom Tate, chief lobbyist for the Louisiana Association of Educators. Tate also said courts have made a distinction between private companies, where pre-employment drug tests are common, and public bodies. "I believe that tests will be challenged -- and successfully challenged," he told the Senate Education Committee. Hoyt's bill would require school districts to establish drug-testing policies before teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, administrators and others who supervise children are hired. Teachers would pay for the test, estimated to cost about $35. Critics said that is unfair too. "I may not have $35 for that test," said Sen. Paulette Irons, D-New Orleans and a member of the education committee. Hoyt countered that the test would not apply to everyone who applies for a teaching job. It would only be a final hurdle if the district is ready to offer the applicant a job. "It is like 'Here is a $35,000-a-year job if you pay $35 for drug screening,'" Hoyt said. Hoyt said his bill was not triggered by any single incident. But he said there were 750 cases nationally in which educators were convicted of substance abuse between 1987-96. Mike Lucia, executive director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, said he was a school superintendent for 10 years. While people prefer to believe otherwise, schools are not immune to drug problems, he said. Ferdinand Troullier, field representative for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said drug users could get around the test by avoiding them before applying for a job, Troullier said. "I would suggest that you not pass this," he said. While Hoyt's bill triggered a lengthy, animated debate in a Senate committee last week, the issue barely registers in school hallways. Tammy Wood, a teacher in the gifted program at Brownfields Elementary Magnet School, said the issue has triggered little talk. "Really and truly, it would not bother me at all if I was a new teacher coming into the system," Wood said. She does not belong to a teacher union. Mark Richterman, principal at Melrose Elementary, said drug tests are not a big topic. "I would hope that we would not come to the time where that would be necessary," Richterman said. Hoyt hoped his bill would be approved by the Senate Education Committee last week. Instead, he shelved the measure to resolve questions that surround it, especially if the bill runs afoul of court rulings. Whether the measure sparks a major row or dies a quiet death is unclear. Hoyt said he is not bothered by criticism that his bill would be unfair to teachers. "If in fact it is a personal intrusion to prohibit drug users from teaching our kids, I think we need to push for that," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe